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Lawson out with strained Achilles

By Benjamin Hochman The Denver Post

Posted:
01/01/2013 10:50:14 PM MST

DENVER -- At least lately, Ty Lawson is not the best Nugget, but the point guard is arguably the most important Nugget, because of his position and the way the position is played in coach George Karl's system.

Every injury stinks for a team, but the point guard's Achilles tendon injury is especially frustrating for the powder blue.

Lawson didn't play Tuesday night against Chris Paul and the Clippers because of a strain in his left Achilles tendon, and the point guard explained that "it's a day-to-day thing. Now we're doing treatment on it. At first, we were just heating it up before games and getting out there and playing. But now we have a couple games at home, so I'm going to get an MRI (on Wednesday) and see what's wrong with it."

Andre Miller filled into the starting gig, and if Lawson continues to sit out, rookie Evan Fournier will likely gobble some minutes with the reserve unit. Denver's regular third point guard, Julyan Stone, is still recovering from a hip surgery but could return later this month.

Lawson's Achilles has bothered him in recent days, and he even sat out the second half of a game for precautionary reasons Dec. 22.

In the past week, he has experienced tightness in the foot, notably when he jumps.

This is just another issue in a season that hasn't gone as planned for the little guy. After agreeing to a contract extension, Lawson has played unevenly, dominating one game, faltering in the next. He averages 13.6 points per game and 6.

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9 assists this season; before the season, Karl said Lawson could possibly average eight assists.

Lawson's importance to Denver was seen, most exceptionally, in the win last week against the Lakers. He was poised and aggressive against Steve Nash, and Lawson tallied a season-high 14 assists without one turnover, while also scoring 17 points in the victory.

L.A. for real?

With the Clippers in town, the question was asked: Are these guys actually contenders to win the Western Conference?

"I don't want to sign that contract yet, but I probably would," Karl said before the game against L.A. "I think they play more intense minutes than any other team in the NBA. Very few teams can play 48 minutes of every possession, aggressive, intense, together, focused basketball."

The Nuggets thrived last season because of a talented, deep bench, and now Karl is watching the Clippers do the same thing at perhaps a higher level. The Clippers' bench was the key to the Dec. 25 win against Denver.

"Their bench has professional intensity," the coach said. "I don't know if this is offensive to their starting unit, but I think they play harder than their first unit. They have a ferocious intensity to them a little bit."

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